'I invite the youth to take the reins of the Youth Congress'

Following is the speech delivered by Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi at the Indian Youth Congress Convention called 'Buniyaad' in New Delhi. 

Senior leaders of the Congress Party, elected office bearers of the Indian Youth Congress, distinguished guests and friends.

Gandhiji is no longer a man. He has become an idea. He is an expression of all that is good in humanity. He is one in a long line of people who truly represent the soul of India.

Gandhiji did not seek to lead people. He only ever led himself. His method was to create a mutiny within himself and relentlessly challenge everything that he stood for. He
challenged, questioned and refined every idea he ever had. He developed leadership in people around him by encouraging them to do the same.

A leader in the Indian tradition is not someone who leads people. She is someone who knows how to lead herself.
Gandhiji believed all human beings have the right to political expression. His conflict with the British occurred because he felt they did not allow Indians the right to political expression. He understood that the Congress was a powerful institution that could give India a political voice.

He cracked its hinges open and used it to provide a political identity to millions of Indians. He never sought to control or own the Congress Party. He strove instead to give it to its true owners, the people of India. Gandhiji did not only change the organisation. He changed the people within it.

Gandhiji broke the doors of our organisation open with the force of his personality. Today we don't have a Gandhiji. That is why we are using a system of elections and democratisation that will enable the Youth Congress to open itself to the youth of our nation. This system of periodic elections will ensure that the youth of India will have the opportunity to elect their own leaders every two years.

The elections have empowered a new generation of Youth Congress leaders. As you begin this journey I would like to offer you some ideas that might help you as you progress in the world of politics.

We come into this world with nothing and we leave with nothing. The only thing you will ever have as a political leader is the trust of your people. Gandhiji maintained this trust till the day he died. In fact he maintains it today as I speak. Try not to lose this trust.

Today, many political leaders lead by telling people what they want to hear. People who tell others what they want to hear are not called leaders. They are called followers. Learn to lead.

Test your ideas. Challenge your thoughts. Create mutinies within yourselves and others around you. Develop a relationship with your people. Learn to listen to people. Listen to and respect your opponents because they guide you. But most importantly, learn to recognise and fight for the truth. Finally, understand that leadership in our tradition is not about taking but about giving. It is not about leading people but about leading yourselves.

I wish you all the best for a great journey. I would like to end by inviting the youth of India to take the reins of the Youth Congress and guide the destiny of our nation.

Thank You.